Canyons
Locations article |image=BO2-GeneralCanyons.png |caption=Canyons scenery |introduced= Blood Omen 2 (2002) |appearances= Blood Omen 2 }} The Canyons is a playable location featured in Blood Omen 2, it is just outside of Meridian and is featured in Wild Places. Profile Vorador sent Kain to the Canyons in a bid to meet the Seer and uncover her knowledge of the Device in Chapter 7 . The Canyons were a set of deep valleys leading "north" Vorador: "There is a secret way out of the city. I will show it to you. You may follow a canyon that leads north to her abode. The way will not be easy. Strange beasts roam outside the city, preying on travelers. The people call them demons." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. out of Meridian, as the title of the associated chapter suggests, they were considered a wilderness. "The Seer isn't the most social of creatures. She lives far away from the city, past a wilderness that only Smugglers and Mercenaries dare to cross. Rumour has it she also created the giant bug-like creatures to kill any who dare trespass upon her lands." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 54. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0 The Canyons were mainly used by the travelling merchant NPCs (who presumably brought supplies to or from Meridian), during their travels they were frequently under threat from Smugglers (who apparently raided carts and stole supplies) Kain found that a major bridge traversing the canyons had fallen Seraphan Knight: "Name and business."//'Carter:' "What’s this? By thunder, every week I depart by this gate."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Name and business."//'Carter:' "Turo, bringing supplies to the garrison beyond the abode of the witch. Here is my toll. "//'Seraphan Knight:' "The bridge is fallen."//'Carter:' "Again? And they’ve not repaired it?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "There’s more important matters afoot. A company’s being sent out."///'Carter:' "The smugglers are to be destroyed at last?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "Smugglers? There’s worse than that infesting the roads. But now the culprits will be dealt with."//'Carter:' "At long last. Why pay such high tolls if they won’t keep the roads open, that’s what I say."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Hold your tongue! Or you may not keep it long. Open the gates, there!" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. (though whether this is due to Smugglers,Lesser Demons or natural causes is not elaborated upon) this meant Kain had follow the traders carts around the outside of the Canyons passing through several Sarafan gatehouses, unstable cavernous areas and through a Smuggler's Warehouse, eventually emerging in a demon infested area littered with corpses of merchants and Sarafan troops. Following a set of tracks to an unnamed industrial settlement, Kain found it barricaded but littered with corpses. Beyond the settlement he found several Sarafan buildings before finally finding the Seer's Cottage, gaining from her the Dark Gift Telekinesis and being teleported to the Device . The Canyons settlement The Canyons Settlement in a conjectural term for the unnamed industrial settlement featured in Blood Omen 2, in Chapter 7: The Canyons. Kain first came across the settlement while exploring the Canyons, searching for the Seer's Cottage. On the outskirts of the settlement there was a large Sarafan symbol carved into the rock-face and a gatehouse that was on fire, allowing Kain's entry. Inside Kain found a single Lesser Demon, a large windmill and a track and locomotive which Kain was able to activate and use to travel, through a tunnel to the main settlement . The main settlement was a large walled hamlet whose doors were barricaded, (presumably against Lesser Demon attack, although this seemed to have been ineffective as many Industrial workers corpses were found inside.), it also contained many industrial elements including two cranes, a conveyor belt and refinery, several carts and the same track and locomotive system Kain had used to travel there. The settlement also had several Glyph magic applications including a Glyph battery. Kain used the cranes to drop a large rock on a Glyph battery causing it to explode, destroying one of the walls and allowing Kain to escape the main settlement . Following the tracks out of the main settlement, Kain found a set of Sarafan-banner decorated buildings, under heavy attack from Lesser Demons, who were easily overpowering the defending Sarafan Knights and Workers . These buildings appeared to be a "power station" Power Station Worker: "I’m not coming out! They’re everywhere! Those horrible beasts! They’re killing everyone in sight! I’m safe here, though. Someone will come to rescue me. Someone will come! " Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. (which fuelled the nearby Ward gates) and a fenced off 'barracks'. Deactivating the ward gates, Kain was able to travel down the trail to the Seer's Cottage . Notes *The Canyons Settlement shares some visual similarities with the concept art for Valeholm, though there is no confirmed link between the two and they are believed to be separate locations. *The presence of several tracks leading into 'mineshafts' and the 'refinery and rock' puzzle in the main settlement suggests that the settlement may be involved in mining and ore extraction . *Minor NPC Turo gives the closest to a proper name for the settlement, calling it "the garrison beyond the abode of the the witch", his conversation with a Sarafan Knight also reveals that the main bridge across the Canyons has fallen and it is the usual access route to the settlement Seraphan Knight: "Name and business."//'Carter:' "What’s this? By thunder, every week I depart by this gate."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Name and business."//'Carter:' "Turo, bringing supplies to the garrison beyond the abode of the witch. Here is my toll. "//'Seraphan Knight:' "The bridge is fallen."//'Carter:' "Again? And they’ve not repaired it?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "There’s more important matters afoot. A company’s being sent out."///'Carter:' "The smugglers are to be destroyed at last?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "Smugglers? There’s worse than that infesting the roads. But now the culprits will be dealt with."//'Carter:' "At long last. Why pay such high tolls if they won’t keep the roads open, that’s what I say."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Hold your tongue! Or you may not keep it long. Open the gates, there!" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. (hence it is the more heavily defended than the route Kain uses to enter). After going around the outside of the Canyons, Kain finds the other end of the fallen bridge by the settlement between the two ward gates next to the Sarafan buildings . *It is unusual that the main settlement is covered in corpses, but there are no Lesser Demons seen around and the settlement is still barricaded. The fact there is a single Lesser Demon inside the walls of the burning 'outskirt gatehouse' may imply that this was the entrance that the Lesser Demons used to infiltrate the settlement; this would have allowed the demons to bypass the sarafan defences and attack them from behind, explaining how the Sarafan buildings have been so easily overwhelmed. BO2-TC-BurningGatehouse.png|Burning Gatehouse at entrance to settlement outskirts BO2-TC-SettlementOutskirts.png|'Outskirts' settlement BO2-TC-SettlementInternal1.png|Crane in canyons settlement BO2-TC-SettlementOpenDoor.png|Destroyed crane once exit is blown open BO2-TC-SettlementMinecart.png|Minecart tracks from settlement into nearby mine BO2-TC-SettlementBarricade.png|barricaded doors to the settlement BO2-TC-HugeSarafanCross.png|Sarafan Cross/ effigy at entrance to settlement The Seer's Cottage The Seer's Cottage, also known as the Seer's Abode Objective 1: Make Your Way to the Seer's Abode "The Seer isn't the most social of creatures. She lives far away from the city, past a wilderness that only Smugglers and Mercenaries dare to cross. Rumour has it she also created the giant bug-like creatures to kill any who dare trespass upon her lands." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 54. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0 Vorador: "There is a secret way out of the city. I will show it to you. You may follow a canyon that leads north to her abode. The way will not be easy. Strange beasts roam outside the city, preying on travelers. The people call them demons." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.., or the Abode of the Witch Seraphan Knight: "Name and business."//'Carter:' "What’s this? By thunder, every week I depart by this gate."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Name and business."//'Carter:' "Turo, bringing supplies to the garrison beyond the abode of the witch. Here is my toll. "//'Seraphan Knight:' "The bridge is fallen."//'Carter:' "Again? And they’ve not repaired it?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "There’s more important matters afoot. A company’s being sent out."///'Carter:' "The smugglers are to be destroyed at last?"//'Seraphan Knight:' "Smugglers? There’s worse than that infesting the roads. But now the culprits will be dealt with."//'Carter:' "At long last. Why pay such high tolls if they won’t keep the roads open, that’s what I say."//'Seraphan Knight:' "Hold your tongue! Or you may not keep it long. Open the gates, there!" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. was a building featured in Blood Omen 2, in Chapter 7:The Canyons. It was the home of the Seer and the location of Kain's meeting with her. Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002). Profile The Seer's Cottage was first seen when Kain traveled to the Canyons in Chapter 7: Wild Places. Seeking the Seer's knowledge of the Device, Vorador had sent Kain to her cottage in the north of the Canyons. Kain eventually found the cottage perched on the edge of a cliff, nearby the unnamed industrial settlement and the associated Sarafan buildings. The Cottage was a modest brick building with a wide wooden chimney and a wooden porch with a rocking chair on it. Next to the cottage, there was a small brick enclosure which housed a small waterwheel that ran from a nearby waterfall (which flowed over the cliff) and a wood store. Nearby the cottage there was also a well and a windmill. Inside, the cottage contained several 'homely' elements including a quilted bed, a small boiler, a fireplace, a ladder, a chest of drawers and table and chairs. Behind the Scenes - The Canyons at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) Entering the Cottage, Kain met the Seer and was able to persuade the Seer that he was capable of destroying the Device. Whilst the Cottage was under attack from the Sarafan Lord and a set of (fire arrow shooting) Sarafan Archers, (The camera cuts to outside the Seer’s house. We see the Sarafan Lord and several Sarafan archers perched nearby) //'Sarafan Lord:' "Bathe them in fire. Let them learn as they writhe in the flames and their bones dissolve, the futility of their actions. The vampire, and all of his kind, shall be razed from the land."//(He levels the Soul Reaver at the Seer's house and fires off a blast of energy.)//'Sarafan Lord:' "This world will be made pure by my hand."//(The Sarafan Lord gives a signal, and the archers launch a volley of fire arrows that rain down onto the house, setting it alight.) Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. the Seer ordered Kain to drink her Blood, enabling him to gain the Dark Gift Telekinesis. Kain: "What must I do?"//'Seer:' "Come here. Drink. Drink my blood. Now!"///'Kain:' "What manner of creature are you? You are like no vampire that I have seen."//'Seer:' "Who I am, what I am, is of no concern to you.Time presses –He is here. Do as I tell you. If you are to destroy the device and save Nosgoth, you must drink.Agh! Good, yes, drink, my dark prince. Feel my powers coursing through your veins. You can manipulate objects already by sheer will alone. But as you were taught, you can only use this ability at close range. By drinking my blood, you will be granted the gift of Telekinesis. You will be able to manipulate objects at a great distance. And, you will be able to activate this symbol, and enter the Device." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. She also teleported him to the Device, saving him from the Sarafan Lord, but did not join him. Seer: "He has found you. Your destiny draws even closer. I will transport you to the entrance of the Device. From there, use your new-found ability to gain entrance."//'Kain:' "What of you, Seer? Escape with me. I am in need of allies."///'Seer:' "Am I your ally? My fate lies along a different path. Goodbye, Kain." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. It is likely the Cottage burnt to the ground in the attack, but the fate of the Seer herself is a mystery. Notes *It is curious that the Seer's Cottage is so close to the nearby industrial settlement and the associated Sarafan buildings (though these buildings appear to be more isolated since bridge across the canyons fell. there are two Ward gates positioned along the trail on the way to the Seer's Cottage, though it is unclear exactly what their purpose is. Kain is the only Vampire seen around and both the Lesser demons and Humans are immune to ward gate effects. *The Seer's Cottage is surrounded by the bodies of several Lesser Demons, perhaps suggesting (contrary to human beliefs) that she does not control them. Later levels show the Lesser Demons serving the Hylden. *The rocking chair on the Seer's front porch continues to rock backwards and forwards (with no-one there) through Kain's approach and the Seer's cutscene, there are also several dead birds hanging from the porch and a rope-pulley system that appears to lead down the cliff. Despite her supposed isolation, The Seer's cottage has at least four chairs inside (three seated around as table), suggesting she may occasionally have visitors. *The Seer's cutscene is triggered as soon as Kain attempts to open the front door. However, the cottage can be entered using cheats or some careful jumping. The Seer will then be absent from the cottage and many of the items in the room will have no collision detection (meaning Kain can walk straight through them.) There are however several 'props' of the weapons used in the 'Seer's cutscene' (Crossbows and the Soul Reaver), neither have any special properties and though this is the only time Kain can pick up a crossbow, it cannot be used.The cottage has a back door which leads out to a small 'backyard' which features only a rocky outcrop - Kain cannot re-enter the building once he has exited through this door. BO2-TC-Seer'sCottageExternalWide.png|Wide Shot of The Seer's Cottage BO2-TC-Seer'sCottageInternal.png|Inside The Seer's Cottage BO2-TC-Seer'sCottageBackyard.png|The Seer's Cottage Backyard Notes *Maps Blood Omen 2 Maps at Nosgothic Realm. appear to indicate that the Canyons are outside the walls of Meridian opposite the Slums/Smuggler's Den island and adjacent to the Sarafan Keep. Vorador describes them as leading "north", though many directions given in Blood Omen 2 are disputed or contradictory. *The Canyons feature the largest Sarafan symbol seen in the game, carved into a rock-face next to a gatehouse that is on fire . *Kain can be made to walk around the gates barring entry to the fallen bridge, though there is little to see. The first part of this bridge seen also has a door that glows (indicating it can be opened), but it is locked and will only be opened with Kain activating the nearby alarm, summoning a Sarafan Knight from inside the room (it is revealed to be a tiny room barely big enough for the Sarafan Knight inside and with no doors indictaing further access to the rest of the bridge 'tower' structures) . *Despite it's fearsome reputation there are several settlers in the Canyons; early on Kain passes the 'Waterwheel House' seen in concept art as well as several Smugglers stores and a Smugglers Warehouse (it is also hinted that some of the NPC's may be working with the Smugglers unlike other merchants in the level, Smugglers are not aggressive to the NPC's in these areas), he also passes through the unnamed Canyons settlement and a set of nearby Sarafan buildings as well as the Seer's Cottage . *The Canyons despite being a wilderness do feature some interesting technology, primary amongst these are the Glyph magic powered 'carts' (which resemble early automobiles), locomotives (and tracks), cranes, conveyor belts, a refinery, water towers and many windmills can be seen, as well as Glyph Batteries and Ward gates . (Glyph magic is used in some of the smaller 'settlements' around the Canyons.) *Lesser Demon infested areas of the Canyons are often filled with Human corpses (of NPC's, Smugglers and Sarafan Knights), indeed, Sarafan Knights and Smugglers can be seen battling Lesser Demons on many occasions (sometimes allowing Kain to slip passed unnoticed). Lesser Demon areas also contain huge sets of green webbing and many large pulsating cocoons in nearby trees, with many of their victims visible still struggling (though they cannot be freed or fed upon). Large webs are seen at the beginning of the Canyons, but these are grey and may hint at the later Demon spiders . *Human dialogue (by both Sarafan troops and NPC's) indicates that The Seer controls the Lesser Demons Refinery Worker: "I told them! She cursed them. I told them! The old witch – her minions will come and slay us all. I told them!" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. and the company sent out by the Sarafan is to deal with this threat, this seems unlikely given the later association between the Lesser Demons and the Hylden and that the Seer's Cottage has several Lesser Demon corpses outside. It may be that this was a cover story told to Sarafan troops to justify their assault. BO2-TC-HugeSarafanCross.png|Huge Sarafan Symbol BO2-TC-BurningGatehouse.png|The Burning Gatehouse BO2-TC-Bridge.png|Gates to the Fallen Bridge BO2-TC-Bridge2.png|The Fallen Bridge BO2-TC-WaterwheelHouse.png|The Waterwheel House BO2-TC-SmugglerWarehouse-External.png|Outside the Smuggler's Warehouse BO2-TC-SmugglerWarehouse-Internal.png|Inside the Smuggler's Warehouse BO2-TC-MeridianExit.png|Drawbridge to Meridian Bo2-TC-Bridge-SarafanPowerStn.png|Other end of Fallen Bridge and Sarafan Order 'Power Station' BO2-TC-FencedSarafanBuilding.png|Fenced off Sarafan 'Garrison' BO2-TC-Cart.png|Cart Type 1 BO2-TC-Cart2.png|Cart Type 2 BO2-TC-Cocoon.png|Lesser Demon 'Cocoon' See also *''Wild Places'' * Chapter Seven: The Canyons - "Wild Places" Script at Nosgothic Realm. * Chapter Seven: The Canyons - "Wild Places" Script at Dark Chronicle * Conversations in Nosgoth - Chapter Seven at Dark Chronicle References Browse Category:Blood Omen 2 Category:Browse Category:Locations Category:Locations/Blood Omen 2 major locations Category:Locations/Blood Omen 2 Category:Locations/Overland